A report into the re-scheduling of Leaving Certificate English Paper 2 last June has found the exam superintendent did not follow correct procedures.
The paper, scheduled for Thursday, June 4th, was mistakenly distributed in error to students on the morning of Wednesday, June 3rd, by the superintendent in a school in Drogheda, Co Louth.
The incorrect paper was immediately retrieved, but the exams commission was not notified until 3.55pm.
More than 50,000 students then had to sit a back-up paper 2 on Saturday June 6th.
The State Examinations Commission (SEC) report into the incident found that “none of the documented procedures were carried out correctly by the superintendent”.
The report recommends further training for superintendents and a new series of checks on exam papers.
Speaking today at the publication of the report, Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe said that human error could not be ruled out in the future.
He said: “The exams process is heavily dependent on human input and, as such, the risk of error can never be entirely eliminated.”
Mr O’Keeffe said the SEC are "undertaking further analysis on the options for the transfer, storage, packing and distribution of question papers and the implications of such options in terms of security, affordability, quality and risk mitigation".
Earlier this month Mr O’Keeffe told the Dáil that the total cost of rescheduling the second paper for a Saturday would be more than €1 million.